So this year I started very early with my training plan because my calendar is very heavily front loaded. I really started threshold interval work in the first week of December and noticed some quite remarkable gains very quickly. By the end of the month my 20 minute power had increased over 15w.

Then came the holidays. I decided to take a rest week as it would be nearly impossible to train while traveling to visit the family and all that. I left on the 26th and got back on the 29th. I caught a cold when I came back and took some time off until I was fully recovered (the 4th).

I started working my way back. I never achieved quite the same numbers but I was very close. My 20 minute power was within 2w of my peak during December, so I was not all too far off by Jan 10th. Then I started to get a bit of ankle pain and took a few days off and it went away completely (I visited a Dr. and they said not to worry about it).

Since I have got back to riding the way I was and somehow can't even get close to where I was in either December or early Jan. My heart rate is about 8bpm higher for the same wattage nearly 2 weeks prior. My 20 minute power has fallen back to beginning of December values.

Do not try and force your way back. You will get there again, there's obviously a drop in your level. It can happen to all of us. Relax, ride your bike ,train consistant and you will be fine. I have just been through the same kind of thing. Good luck

You probably weren't fully recovered unless you have some kinda Wolverine from X-Men regeneration.

Symptoms of cold can range from 5 days to 2 months depending on the strain and the individual. Activity under symptoms makes things much more difficult. When you say that you fully recovered, that means you had ZERO nose running? It is the hole that we breathe through usually (or should be breathing through). Muscle fatigue and low energy levels are often symptoms of cold as well along with a myriad of other potential

Also - what kind of break did you have? From the sound of it - the 26th through the 29th sounded like it was physically straining - enough to make you sick when you got back from the trip. Was there activity on this trip? Were you starting to feel sick from the trip? Was it definitely after or during your travel?

I had the symptoms of a cold for 2 days, after that it was mostly just residual stuff. Runny nose was gone by day 3, cough gone by day 4, I was definitely 100% and felt exactly as I had before.

My break after Christmas wasn't physically or mentally straining. It was mostly hanging out with family, playing with the dogs, meeting some new people.

Everything I am doing now, is basically the exact same as back in December, although I am resting a little more if anything. I'm just not seeing any improvements but rather staying fairly stagnant. Sleep is good, nutrition is the same, etc.

I also am definitely not burnt out. I'm still extremely motivated to get on the bike. My body feels great going into workouts, and as great as it can feel after workouts.

Loss of fitness can happen for too many reasons to even start listing.

Any change in diet, exercise regiment, sleep, non-workout workload, can have adverse effects. I tend to have a very sharp loss of power after consistent days of inconsistent sleep. That is - 4 hours the night before - 8 hours the night before that... etc... When I have everything dialed in however, I get back to my peak fitness pretty quickly.

The other factor that has changed how my body has been reacting to these stimuli has been age. It's funny how you FEEL so different at 23 opposed to 29. It feels like it happened overnight. I consider myself on the cusp of youth and fading into middle age not because of a number necessarily - just things like power, recovery, and general overall health are not the same anymore.

Loss of fitness can happen for too many reasons to even start listing.

Any change in diet, exercise regiment, sleep, non-workout workload, can have adverse effects. I tend to have a very sharp loss of power after consistent days of inconsistent sleep. That is - 4 hours the night before - 8 hours the night before that... etc... When I have everything dialed in however, I get back to my peak fitness pretty quickly.

The other factor that has changed how my body has been reacting to these stimuli has been age. It's funny how you FEEL so different at 23 opposed to 29. It feels like it happened overnight. I consider myself on the cusp of youth and fading into middle age not because of a number necessarily - just things like power, recovery, and general overall health are not the same anymore.

Mainly implying that I can start to feel the age. In my lift - it's almost getting to that point where I need that extra day of recovery before heading back in - it wasn't like that before. For the endurance stuff, I feel like I'm getting stronger, and it's definitely not a decline. I'm just stating the fact that it's become a little more difficult to recover, and the difference between when I was 23, and what I feel now is noticeable.

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